Cocoa Summit Creates Cartel for Cocoa Growers to Graduate from Bean to Brand

In the likes of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC), the West African countries of Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria officially formed a Cocoa Value Addition Alliance during the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 that kicked off on 14 July 2026 in Abuja, Nigeria. The four-nation Cartel is an extension of the Côte d’Ivoire – Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI).

These four countries alone account for 70% of the world’s cocoa production. The objective of the cartel is to halt the export of raw cocoa seeds and promote more local value addition (#LVA).

During the bilateral Summit on Cocoa Initiative that took place in Abidjan on 16 June 2026, the Ivorian President Ouattara and the Ghanaian President Mahama jointly underscored the necessity to rope in other major cocoa producers in order to enable closer coordination. The Cocoa Cartel aims to leverage the strength in unity to control the global price of cocoa and keep more benefits within the local communities.

As from the 30th of December 2026, the new European Deforestation Rules (EUDR) will take effect. Under EUDR, all cocoa entering the EU will need to have full traceability down to the parcel of land where it was cultivated. The EU is by far the largest importer of cocoa and takes up nearly 60% of all global exports.

At the moment, the final product makers of chocolates take the lion’s share of the benefits. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands are the world’s leading makers and exporters of finished chocolate, but none of them actually grow any cocoa.

The African leaders call out the colonial mindset behind the current model, whereby only minuscule benefits trickle down to the cocoa farmers, while the chocolate makers enjoy fat profits.

The global chocolate market is estimated to be around USD 150 billion. Based on some studies, for every dollar spent on chocolate, the cocoa farmer only captures less than 5 cents. The manufacturers and retailers take the largest bite of the profits

In December 2024, the cocoa price hit a record high of nearly USD 13,000 per tonne. Now, the price has dropped back to oscillate between USD 3,000 to 4,000 per tonne. The extreme volatility creates uncertainty and is detrimental to all stakeholders. Therefore, the Cocoa Cartel will seek to stabilize the price, regulate the supply, and escalate the chocolate value chain.